My crew for this cruise was another Dave. He is a good friend of the captain (Tim Kehl) of the Burns Harbor, a freighter on the Great Lakes. (Tim and my wife also went to school together.) Dave told Tim about our trip and Tim said he would be on the water but wasn’t sure where he would be or when. We figured our chances of encountering the Burns Harbor were slim to none.

We left Mackinaw City, MI and motored west directly into a 10-15K wind. The plan was to set sail when we reached the north end of Grays Reef Passage, 25 miles away, and head south. Grays Reef Passage runs north and south, is five miles long, and about half-a-mile wide at its narrowest point.

When we were about an hour east of the passage, we heard a Securite call from the Burns Harbor announcing that it would be entering the south end of Grays Reef Passage in an hour. Needless to say, we were astounded by the coincidence.

As we neared the north end of the passage, Dave hailed the Burns Harbor on VHF. After it had made its turn into the passage and Captain Kehl informed us that their course was steady, I steered to intercept. We passed within 200 feet. Dave was on the bow of my boat and Captain Kehl was on the wing deck of his ship. They exchanged hellos and took photos. The following day, Tim emailed this photo to Dave’s wife.

After passing the Burns Harbor, we hoisted our sails and had a beautiful 35 mile beam reach to Charlevoix, MI.